hmm John knew hebrew also, let's do some research there also?
hebrew shin ~ sin
The letter shin appears engraved on both sides of the head- tefilin. On the right side, the shin possesses three heads, while on the left side it possesses four heads. In Kabbalah we are taught that the three-headed shin is the shin of this world while the four- headed shin is the shin of the World to Come.
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~battle/mainbody.htm
The Letter Shin is easily distinguished by its three heads. The spacing of the Shin is something that takes practice for a Sofer to write correctly. The leftmost leg should have the head of a Zayin. (According to the Arizal,the left leg has the head of a Vov.) The head should have 3 Tagin on it, like a regular Zayin. The heads should not touch one another at all. Also, there should be no more than 3 heads in total, or the letter would be rendered invalid. The bottom should come to a point, and not be rounded or flat.
The Letter Shin is equal to 300. The Letter Tof is equal to 400. Basically, you would put the letters together to equal the number you are seeking e.g. - 22 would be CHOF-BEIS. However, if you wanted to write out the number fully, like when we write seventy one in English instead of 71, you would need to know the Hebrew words for seventy and one and put them next to one another. Finally, keep in mind that in Hebrew they also use the numbers 1234567890, and so even though they are not Hebrew characters, they are universally known and used by the name Arabic characters.
http://www.templesanjose.org/JudaismInf ... graphy.htm
In at-bash , the Name Havayah transforms to mem, tzadik, pei, tzadik, which equals 300, the letter shin . 300 also equals the highest "full spelling" of God's Name Elokim. This equality implies that "Havayah [supernatural revelation] is [absolutely one with] Elokim [natural order]." On the head--Tefilin are inscribed two shins, one with three heads and one with four heads. The three headed shin, the shin of this world, represents the "full spelling" of Elokim, while the four headed shin, the shin of the world to come, represents the at-bash transformation of Havayah.
http://www.inner.org/names/namhavay.htm
Anybody understand hebrew?
Rotated to avoid neck pain.